Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen meet Fallon Sherrock and Lisa Ashton respectively during a stunning opening day of action at the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts this weekend.
The 32-player tournament will be staged at the Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton starting on Saturday, November 13.
The players competing for the Eric Bristow Trophy and a share of the £500,000 prize-pool. The winner will walk away with a cool £125,000.
The Grand Slam of Darts has an unconventional format sees players drawn into eight groups of four. Here they will play one another in a round-robin format. After three matches apiece, the two most successful players will progress from each group. Thereafter the competition reverts to a simple knockout system.
Groups of Quality Players
Each of the eight groups has a player seeded in the world’s top eight. There is also a player ranked somewhere between 10 and 24. The remaining players have qualified from a number of different events. These include the PDC Women’s Series, the UK and European Development Tour and European Challenge Tour.
Resultantly, there are a number of little-known players in the event. One of those, 20-year-old Austrian Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, comes highly touted. One of three darting brothers, he has won five of the nine European Development Tour events he’s played in 2021.
The rookie is drawn in a tough Group B. It contains 2021 Masters, Premier League, World Grand Prix and World Series of Darts winner Jonny Clayton, Mervyn King and 2020 World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks.
Reigning champion Jose de Sousa is pitted against UK Open runner-up Luke Humphries, World Cup finalist Mensur Suljovic and Canada’s Matt Campbell in Group F.
Female Qualifiers
Fallon Sherrock (pictured) will make her Grand Slam debut against World Matchplay champion Peter Wright on Saturday. Gabriel Clemens and Belgium’s Mike De Decker will be her other opponents at some point – as all are drawn in Group E.
Lisa Ashton (pictured below) has three-time Grand Slam champion Michael van Gerwen, Joe Cullen and World Cup winner John Henderson in her group, Group G.
Other Group Draws
- World Champion Gerwyn Price has been drawn alongside Krzysztof Ratajski, Martin Schindler and Nathan Rafferty in Group A.
- UK Open champion James Wade and European Championship winner Rob Cross are joined by Croatia’s Boris Krcmar and Wales’ Jim Williams in Group C.
- Group D features Dimitri Van den Bergh, Stephen Bunting, Ryan Joyce and Rowby-John Rodriguez.
Barney’s Back
2012 Grand Slam of Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld secured his return to this event by winning a Tour Card Holder Qualifier on Friday. His reward is a spot in Group H alongside Gary Anderson, Michael Smith and Joe Davis.
Traditionalists would love to see Barneveld get a deep run in this tournament. Returning from retirement, the former world champion has a great following. He is 5/1 to win his group.
Grand Slam Of Darts Betting Odds
The outright Grand Slam Of Darts betting odds lists is topped by Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen (MVG). Price won this competition in 2018 and 2019. MVG won the valuable event for three consecutive years beforehand.
Peter Wright, currently world ranked number two, has finished runner-up in the Grand Slam twice. Early defeats in the World Grand Prix, European Championship and World Series of Darts finals in October have led to the online bookmakers dismissing him. He can be backed at odds of 10/1.
Grand Slam Of Darts Odds via Betfair*
- 7/2 Michael van Gerwen
- 7/2 Gerwyn Price
- 10/1 Peter Wright
- 10/1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- 18/1 Jose de Sousa
- 20/1 Rob Cross
- 28/1 Krzysztof Ratajski
- 25/1 Michael Smith
- 28/1 Joe Cullen
- 28/1 Gary Anderson
- 33/1 James Wade
- 40/1 Mervyn King
- 33/1 Luke Humphries
- 50/1 Gabriel Clemens
- 66/1 Stephen Bunting
- 80/1 Raymond van Barneveld
- 100/1 bar
Clayton and Ratajski are the form choices
Could the bookies have underestimated Jonny Clayton? He has already won four televised tournaments this year. Confidence is everything in darts and he currently has it in spades. Betfair are a standout 11/2, they should be punished!
A little further down the list is another in-form player that could go all the way. Krzysztof Ratajski may not have won a televised major but the form he displayed last week indicates his turn must be close.
Successful in a Player’s Championship event on Friday, he has since won three qualifying matches to book his place in this competition. Posting some excellent averages and landing some outstanding out-shots, he could make a mockery of his Grand Slam odds of 28/1 at bet365*.
Grand Slam Of Darts 2021 Tips:
- Krzysztof Ratajski to win at 28/1 at bet365*
- Jonny Clayton to win at 11/2 at Betfair
* Grand Slam of Darts betting odds correct at the time of writing. All darts odds are subject to changes.
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